[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 152 (Thursday, September 21, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1247-E1248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING BETTY OLDS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 21, 2017

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the remarkable life of 
Betty Olds. She passionately served on the Berkeley City Council for 16 
years and advocated for the environment, women, and animal rights until 
her passing at the age of 96 on July 16, 2017.
  Ms. Olds was born Betty Marion Milne in St. Joseph, Missouri on 
October 19, 1920, and grew up in Holt County. She attended Iowa State 
University, where she graduated in 1942 with a degree in Home Economics 
and met her future husband, Walter Olds. Together they had three 
children.
  In 1950, Ms. Olds and her family moved to the Bay Area. While her 
husband was away in Okinawa for several years, Ms. Olds planted her 
roots in the city of Berkeley to raise her family, and became a 
substitute teacher at Garfield Middle School. She eventually became the 
Dean of Students at Willard Middle School, and was instrumental in 
evacuating the school and ensuring student safety when UC Berkeley 
protestors were tear-gassed in the Bloody Thursday riot of 1969.
  After committing her time to several city commissions, Ms. Olds was 
elected to the Berkeley City Council in 1992 where she made an 
immediate impact in the creation of a new fire station in the Berkeley 
Hills, following the devastating Oakland Hills fire of 1991.
  Ms. Olds was also a founding member of Save the Bay, a group that 
fights to protect

[[Page E1248]]

and restore the environment of the San Francisco Bay.
  In 2007, Ms. Olds made national news when she protested the 
destruction of a grove of oak trees to construct a sports training 
facility next to UC Berkeley's Memorial Stadium. Although she was 87 
years old, Ms. Olds, along with former Mayor Shirley Dean and Save the 
Bay founder Sylvia McLaughlin, climbed into an 80-foot-high tree to 
prevent it from being cut down.
  Ms. Olds was known for her humor and lively spirit. She often made 
jokes to her colleagues that they referred to as ``Bettyisms.'' She was 
an outspoken Council member, unafraid to take on opposing views, and 
was known for her pragmatic approach to local policymaking. Ms. Olds 
was adored by many and was greeted by a cheering crowd when she walked 
into the Council Chambers on the day of her retirement in 2008.
  That same year, Ms. Olds was voted ``Best Politician'' by East Bay 
Express readers; and in 2014, a path in the Berkeley hills, connecting 
Sterling Avenue and Whitaker Avenue was named in her honor.
  Today, on behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, it is 
my honor to commend the life and achievements of Ms. Betty Olds. I 
offer my sincere gratitude to Ms. Olds for her activism and civic 
leadership, and for the profound legacy she has left in the East Bay 
community. I also offer my condolences to Ms. Olds' family and friends 
as they cope with this immeasurable loss and join together to celebrate 
Ms. Olds' life.

                          ____________________